The Used Car Index

2012 Harley-Davidson Softail problems

NHTSA lists 3 complaints for the 2012 Harley-Davidson Softail, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as HARLEY-DAVIDSON SOFTAIL.

At a glance

Complaints
3
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
19,015
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
4

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
POWER TRAIN266.7%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC133.3%
WHEELS133.3%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
POWER TRAINCLUTCH ASSEMBLY1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICFOUNDATION COMPONENTS1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
mechanical failure3100.0%0.79
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
low266.7%0.56
moderate133.3%0.75

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 3 tagged complaints of 3 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

1 recalls.

14V794000

Date: 2014-12-16. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC.

Defect: Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Harley-Davidson) is recalling certain model year 2012 FXST103, FLSTC, FLSTC103, FLSTF, FLSTF103, FXDL, FXDWG, FXDWG103, FXDC, FXDB, FLSTN, FLSTN103, FLSTC103Shrine, FLSTFB, FLSTFB103, FXS, FXS103, FLS, FLS103, FLD, FLD103, FXDF, and FXDF103 Dyna and Softail motorcycles manufactured August 22, 2011, through February 24, 2012. In the affected motorcycles, the threads (excerpt)

Consequence: If the threads corrode, a sudden loss of brake fluid could result, causing a loss of the front brakes, and increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Harley-Davidson will notify owners, and dealers will flush and inspect the front brake master cylinder and, if necessary, replace the master cylinder, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on January 22, 2015. Owners may contact Harley-Davidson customer service at 1-800-258-2464. Harley-Davidson's number for this recall is 0163 and 0164. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

4 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT1
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE1
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER1

10056043

Date: 2014-06-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE, FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER.

HARLEY DAVIDSON: FUEL PUMP WERE FOUND TO NOT HAVE PROBLEMS WITH STARING OR DRIVABILITY ISSUES, AFTER BEING RETURNED TO MANUFACTURER AND DIAGNOSIS DURING PDI. MODEL 2013-14 SOFTAIL. *PE

10055749

Date: 2014-04-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EXTERIOR LIGHTING.

HARLEY DAVIDSON: INFORMATION REGARDING DAYMAKER HEADLAMP EXPERIENCING LOWER CURRENT ON LED HEADLAMP COMPARED TO HALOGEN HEADLAMP. MODEL 2011-13 SOFTAIL, 2012-13 DYNA. *PE

10055756

Date: 2014-04-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

HARLEY DAVIDSON: INFORMATION REGARDING THE EFFORTS OF RETRIEVING THE VOLTAGE REGULATOR KITS 0912, IN THE U.S. *PE

10055297

Date: 2012-04-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY.

HARLEY DAVIDSON MC: INFORMATION PROVIDED REGARDING THE UNSECURED ATTACHMENT OF SADDLEBAGS ON SOME MOTORCYCLE. MODEL 2012 DYNA FLD, 2010-2012 SOFTAIL CVO. *PE

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
SOFTAIL3

Same model, other years

All model years | All Harley-Davidson models

Other Harley-Davidson models, 2012

Sources

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